Man is a creature that can get accustomed to anything, and I think that is the best definition of him.
Vladimir Nabokov – Pale Fire
Creature of Habit
C
Complacency Shattered
C
Complacency is a state of mind that exists only in retrospective: it has to be shattered before being ascertained.
Vladimir Nabokov – Pale Fire
Human Pain
H
The only real numbers are the numbers of human pain.
Vladimir Nabokov – Pale Fire
Brain Deterioration
B
Our brains are bound to deteriorate, but we are not.
Vladimir Nabokov – Pale Fire
Obsolete Future
O
The future is but the obsolete in reverse.
Vladimir Nabokov – Pale Fire
Loathing Simplicity
L
My loathings are simple: stupidity, oppression, crime, cruelty, soft music.
Vladimir Nabokov – Pale Fire
Word Burrowing
W
Let us not burrow and delve beneath a word for a larva or a corpse.
Vladimir Nabokov – Pale Fire
Praise in Pity
P
Pity is a kind of praise; and when we pity, we praise.
Vladimir Nabokov – Pale Fire
Sea’s Mystery
S
The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea.
Vladimir Nabokov – Pale Fire
Knowing Modesty
K
I am sufficiently proud of my knowing something to be modest about my not knowing all.
Vladimir Nabokov – Pale Fire